Improved bale-tie



UNITED STATES' PATENT-OFFICE IMPRVED BALB-Tis.

Y Specification limniiig pui-t of Letters Patent No. 106,698, dated August 23, 1570.

I, WILLIAM A. JORDAN, of New Orleans, Louisiana, have invented a cert-ain improvement in Cotton-1`ale Ties, of which the follow'- ing is a spceitication: i

My improvement relates exclusively to that class of cotton-bale ties or buckles for fasten ing ironl bands around bales of cotton by securing their ends together, 'which are provided with a narrow opening or cleft from the outside thereof to an interior or central slot, that at. once constitutes the means by which the ends ot the bands areattaclied to one another, and provides proper bearings for said ends at the points of connection.

The object siibserved by the narrow clei'ts lto which I have referred is to secure the introduction into the central slot oi' the last end of the band that is fastened to the buckles after thc saine has been bentor folded into hook forni.

'lhc` objects sought to he attained by connecting the last end of the band with the buckle in the above-stated manner are to secure uniformity ot' length as to all the bands on the bale, to take up the slack in the bands,

' A and to preserve symmetry of proportion and regularity ot forni in the bale after it is wit"- -dra-wn from thecompressing-inachine but, in

consequence ot' the present defective inode of t i'orining the interior slots, andalsoof cutting the clet'ts leading'into'tl-iem, nobuckles of this class that have yet been devised accomplish in anything like a perfect manner eitherot these results. l

In order to accomplish them the mechanical construction ot' thel buckle must lie such as to fulfill two conditions,'neither of which can bc fulfilled Ly any exist-ing buckle. The

one is that the buckle may be turned in the hook i'u the end of the hand into which it is lalready attached about thirty degrees, andno inore, without changing the relation of its axis edge tothe hook as it is being turned; and ilic other is that there should be no torsion of the band to diininisliit-s length in getting the hook in the last end that is fastened through tion will be better understood bv reference to;

the drawings, on which it is shown, at;

Figure 1; in a detached state, or as when separatedt'roinabaud, and at Fig. 2 as when y connected with, and about being connected with, the bands on a bale of cotton.

0n the drawings, A marks the device as a nar size of a cotton-bale tie, in which two interior slots, D and E, are cut, and also a cleft,

a., leading from 'the slot E to the outside of` the end ot' the buckle that is next thereto, in such manner that the said slots D and 113,7.v

when the latter is viewed in connection with the clefta, andl the enveloping parts of thel plate present the appearance ofthe letters.

which mark them-to wit, I) and E-except l that the E wants the central short horizontal bar. i

The slot D is to receive the first end of' the band that is fastened to theV buckle, which -is,

inserted therein by passing' it. through and then folding it down into hook forni, as shown at Fig. 2. i

'ringJ wianiofnie sie: n ai; nie ibid of nie band must he inst suiciently greater than the width of the band to perniit ot'theveasyin- J troduction of the latter; and the radius of theV curvature ot' the subtending portions ot' this slotl inust be equa-l to the width of tlie'saine where the band enters it, in `order that the buckle orplate A ina-y he turned to the right or the left about thirty degrees, as shown at y Fig. 2, in order to fultill the first condition I y have mentioned as wanting in existing ties. The curvature, as shown ou the diawings,

is very nearly that of a true circle; but it isl obvious that the saine effect would be accomplished by having it represent sections of two circles drawn from the corners of the slot at which the edges ofthe band lie on radii equal 1 to the length or width of the slot along the straight part of it that is occupied by the band, when hotli ends of it are fastened to the buckle.

So, also, it is obvious that if it he deemed sufiicicnt to turn the buckle in one direction only in the hook at the end ot' the band that is first fastened to it, and which is marked B l I "wiLLipin `'a'.connait, or New ORLEANS, Loi'iisiANA, Assioson 'ro Y W i .nnwAiininJONES- e. A .r-f

on. the drawings at Fig. 2, there will be no `need to cut away the plate between the point ofthe curvature at which the moving edge of the band impinges andthe cornerof the slot occupied by the edge of the band which does not move, which lis behind the band, and that `hence the slot D might be made ottriangnlar form. i

`In all` these moditications'it will be perd ceived that the form of the slot D will be such f that while the hook at the end B ot' the band i may change its position in the said slot at one of its edges tothe extent of thirty degrees, or thereabout, it cannot be moved from its hearing throughout its whole width, and that consequently it cannot be disconnected4 from the buckle under any` circumstances whatever except by design. i

The slot E, to receive the last end ofthe l band, which is marked C at Fig. 2, presents three straight and one curved side. The'widt-h of this slotacross the buckle, like the width of the slot- Din the same direction, is just sut'- ticiently wider than the band to permit the hook in the latter to come snugly down upon its bearing, as shown at Fig. 2. l Through this bearing, which, it will be seen,consists ot' a straight bar, produced by the cutting of the slot E, I makean opening or cleft, a, through which to insert the end C of the bands into the slot E after it has been folded into hook y form, as shown bythe two outside bands at Fig?. y

In order to make the insertion without twisting or bending the band, I make this cleft through the bar in an oblique direction, so that when the buckle has been turned` to the limit ot' its vibratory movement it (the said cleft) will come into the same line with `the end of the band or hook, as shown by the outside buckles at Fig. 2.

In order that the inclination of the cleft may be in both directions, and thus allow for the insertion et" the band whether the buckle be turned to the right or left, Iniake the said cleft in double or single V form.

The dra-win g shows a double V form; but I prefer, in order to increase the bearing for the band, that a part ofthe bar beyond, just suticient to insert the band edgewise, which forms it, shall be cut away on its inner surface, and that. the cleft sha-ll present the appearance vare present in my device.

Y ot'a truncated V, the narrowest part being at` i the upper edge of the bearing-bar, and thence 'widening to the outer edge sniiiciently to bring the two sides in line with the end of the band when the buckle isturncd to its utmost limit,

accordingly as the turning shall be in the one or the other direction. The lusertion ofthe lastend of the band in this manner involves the necessary provision of sutlicient space between the upper corners ot' the slot and the point of entry therein of the cleft to allow the whole width of the band to enter into the slot; but as no snel: space required, except between these peints, I curve the opening or slot ,E between the upper corners, and'thns pre- .A serve parallel edges in the central bar, which separates this slot from slot D for most of itsf length. This adds strength to the buckle, and gives it a more synnnetrical and finished appearance. i

The slot E, like t-hc slot l), may be made ot' triangular form whenever it is not deemed Y necessary to have the buckle turned in both directions; but obviously, iu that case, the

triangles must be iu opposite directions to cach other, and there will be no necessity to Ina-ke the clet't other than a narrow one, ot' v uniform width, cutthrough the bar at a proper angle to bring it in line with the end C of the band when the buckle is turned in the proper direction to receive this end.`

` An inspection ot' the drawing at Fig. 2 will at once indicate the modus operandi ot' my iinprovement in its application te practice or` actua-l use; and, furthermore, that both the conditions of construction to which I have rc1` ferred as wanting in all exist-ing ties, and be cause ot' the absence of which they are all, to a greater or lesser extent, incapable ot' accom!` v are designed,

plishing the object n' which the The buckle A, when made of plate-iron, l,

having smooth surfaces, and provided with a slot, l), and a slot, E, into the latter of which y i a cleft, a, enters, when said slots and cleft are formed as herein described, for the purposel 'M. A. JORDAN. Y

`set forth.

XV i tnesses: l

M. N. GRAHAM, J ULIAN NEWLLE. f 

